How role play has evolved

It is another one of those shameful secrets adults like to keep to themselves. But it has always taken place. There are appropriate names - nobody uses their real ones in case they are 'outed'. Code words, passwords, secret rendezvous. It's a serious and dark world for the role-player.

 

It is not the same as acting. These people are not, nor aspire to become, thespians. 

 

There are three types of adult role-player. First, the historical re-enactor. They are people who pretend as if they are from a past period and often will re-enact events - usually famous battles. This has been a pastime for thousands of years. There is evidence that the ancient Romans and Chinese indulges in such role-play.

 

In modern times the re-enactors take their role-playing very seriously. Everything from weapons, clothes and food are reproduced accurately as possible. Old techniques such as wool dying are carried out in the same ways they were in the re-enactment period. The re-enactors can spend thousands of pounds when purchasing a replica sword. 

 

Whilst not a re-enactor myself, I am a spectator. The re-enactors' craft is invaluable to me as it gives me a unique insight as to what it may have been like in Anglo-Saxon times during battle. The camp followers, the sounds of battle, clothes and cooking are all fairly accurate and help me create scenes for my stories.

 

The second type of role-play is the game (RPG), where people take on the part of characters in order to create a story. This is further divided into live action role-play (LARP) and the original format, the tabletop RPG. In the original tabletop version the story develops through discussion. In both types of RPG there is a game master (GM) who decides on the rules and setting and acts as a kind of umpire. The first famous example is Dungeons and Dragons. This was inspired by fantasy literature and those wonderful Early Medieval tales of King Arthur: a mix of folklore, pagan beliefs and magic as well as heroic quests and square jawed heroes.

 

The natural evolution was the transfer to electronic versions and it happened as early as the 1970s. With an Internet connection for educational purposes, university students developed Multi-User Dungeons (MUD). As technology progressed so did the games. Whole worlds have been created and include a host of species and have involved millions of users throughout the world. The most successful game, World of Warcraft, has had over ten million subscribers. I have dabbled in this game as well as Diablo and my first and favourite role-playing computer game, Dungeon Siege. My hero was named Gulfyrian.

 

There are trends in gaming as much as any other area of life and I know that a number of teenagers are creating their own fantasy role-playing. Similar to the Fanfics theme, people choose their fictional characters from films such as the Marvel franchise, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek and the television series Heroes. Often these role-plays are carried out on social network sites like Twitter. They seem like a lot of fun.

 

As for me, as a teacher I was role-playing all the time. Now and again, when there was time, I dressed up as an historical figure, King Charles I, for example. In character I could threaten those pupils who forgot their homework with wonderful punishments like walking the plank, the gallows or - for persistent offenders - being hung drawn and quartered.

 

Very evolutionary.

To see an example from a Star Trek role play click here